Uploaded July 2022 | Updated September 2026, 11 minutes ago
It's always a treat when we get to see an owl. Some species stand out though or do things differently. Here are 5 Fascinating Owls
00:00 Intro
00:23 Burrowing Owl
01:25 Great Horned Owl
02:24 Great Grey Owl
03:16 Short-eared Owl
04:02 Snowy Owl
Unlike most owls, the Burrowing Owls, live in family groups and nest underground. Their stern serious look and practically turning their head upside down is too comical.
Great Horned Owls are very large and very widespread too, found throughout all of North America and even throughout South America. There isn’t a habitat these large birds can’t make a suitable home it seems. Among owls these guys have the most varied diet too, preying on tiny rodents, scorpions, and bats, to skunks, rabbits, rats, birds and anything in between.
The Great Grey is one of our tallest owl species. One of the most interesting things about this large bird is how they hunt. Their strikingly beautiful face has dish-shaped feathers surrounding it that work to funnel sound to its ears, this combined with their asymmetrical ear openings, left ear opening higher on the head than the right ear opening enables precise directional hearing and lets them grab hidden prey. It is so good that they can hunt just by sound alone.
The Short-eared Owls are very common in the United States. An odd thing about them is that while most owls do not build their own nests, these guys actually do. The female will scrape a bowl-shaped nest into the ground and line it with things such as grass and soft feathers. A fascinating thing is that if a female is forced to leave her nest, by a predator she will defecate on the eggs. The rancid smell is thought to repel predators or mask the scent of the eggs. That is a pretty good defense mechanism.
The Snowy owl. Breath-taking birds to see, their yellow glowing eyes and beautiful snow-white plumage work very well to blend them into their surrounding snowy environment. An interesting thing is that every 4 to 5 years, their favorite prey, voles, and lemmings drop significantly, making it hard for them to live in the arctic, so large numbers of snowies leave Moving southward by the hundreds and sometimes thousands. Making their winter home across Canada and in many states of the Lower 48. What a spectacular treat. Once or twice in a lifetime, a mega-irruption occurs.
Questions people may have:
What owls are found in North America?
What is the most common owl in North America?
What is the most unique owl?
What is the largest owl in America?
What is the largest owl in Canada?
Photos and videos from other websites:
The individuals' names can be found on their respective photo/video
(licenses below)
Canva.com
canva.com/policies/free-media
Ways to Support LesleytheBirdNerd:
Lesley the Bird Nerd Merchandise
lesleythebirdnerd.com
Donate via Paypal
paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=E5GM54J7C28LC
Also, find LesleytheBirdNerd here:
Facebook Page
facebook.com/LesleytheBirdNerd
Instagram
instagram.com/lesleythebirdnerd
If you have a sick or injured bird in your possession I can not help this bird in any way it is strongly advised to contact a local vet or wildlife official before any decisions are made. It is very easy to do more harm than good when handling any wildlife.
For business inquiries or Post Office Box information
please contact Jamie at lesleythebirdnerd@gmail.com
==============================================
#Birds #Birdwatching #owls
It's always a treat when we get to see an owl. Some species stand out though or do things differently. Here are 5 Fascinating Owls
00:00 Intro
00:23 Burrowing Owl
01:25 Great Horned Owl
02:24 Great Grey Owl
03:16 Short-eared Owl
04:02 Snowy Owl
Unlike most owls, the Burrowing Owls, live in family groups and nest underground. Their stern serious look and practically turning their head upside down is too comical.
Great Horned Owls are very large and very widespread too, found throughout all of North America and even throughout South America. There isn’t a habitat these large birds can’t make a suitable home it seems. Among owls these guys have the most varied diet too, preying on tiny rodents, scorpions, and bats, to skunks, rabbits, rats, birds and anything in between.
The Great Grey is one of our tallest owl species. One of the most interesting things about this large bird is how they hunt. Their strikingly beautiful face has dish-shaped feathers surrounding it that work to funnel sound to its ears, this combined with their asymmetrical ear openings, left ear opening higher on the head than the right ear opening enables precise directional hearing and lets them grab hidden prey. It is so good that they can hunt just by sound alone.
The Short-eared Owls are very common in the United States. An odd thing about them is that while most owls do not build their own nests, these guys actually do. The female will scrape a bowl-shaped nest into the ground and line it with things such as grass and soft feathers. A fascinating thing is that if a female is forced to leave her nest, by a predator she will defecate on the eggs. The rancid smell is thought to repel predators or mask the scent of the eggs. That is a pretty good defense mechanism.
The Snowy owl. Breath-taking birds to see, their yellow glowing eyes and beautiful snow-white plumage work very well to blend them into their surrounding snowy environment. An interesting thing is that every 4 to 5 years, their favorite prey, voles, and lemmings drop significantly, making it hard for them to live in the arctic, so large numbers of snowies leave Moving southward by the hundreds and sometimes thousands. Making their winter home across Canada and in many states of the Lower 48. What a spectacular treat. Once or twice in a lifetime, a mega-irruption occurs.
Questions people may have:
What owls are found in North America?
What is the most common owl in North America?
What is the most unique owl?
What is the largest owl in America?
What is the largest owl in Canada?
Photos and videos from other websites:
The individuals' names can be found on their respective photo/video
(licenses below)
Canva.com
canva.com/policies/free-media
Ways to Support LesleytheBirdNerd:
Lesley the Bird Nerd Merchandise
lesleythebirdnerd.com
Donate via Paypal
paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=E5GM54J7C28LC
Also, find LesleytheBirdNerd here:
Facebook Page
facebook.com/LesleytheBirdNerd
instagram.com/lesleythebirdnerd
If you have a sick or injured bird in your possession I can not help this bird in any way it is strongly advised to contact a local vet or wildlife official before any decisions are made. It is very easy to do more harm than good when handling any wildlife.
For business inquiries or Post Office Box information
please contact Jamie at lesleythebirdnerd@gmail.com
==============================================
#Birds #Birdwatching #owls
